. >> reporter: critics be dammed says governor jerry brown who backed solar energy no matter of cost or consequence. >> we are the people living with it for ever. we are opposed to it. >> reporter: riverside county is home to more molar energy than anywhere in the u.s. some call it a taxpayer rip off. >> they talk about all the huge jobs and long-term benefit to the county. we will be carrying the burden of having these types of facilities for decades to come. >> there isn't a single energy source in the united states that isn't subsidized right now. this is leveling the playing field for solar. the truth is that the cost for solar power is going consistently down. >> reporter: costs are dropping but solar is still up to five times more expensive than conventional energy and the plants pay millions in local property taxes while solar pays next to nothing. when riverside tried to impose an impact fee big solarued. >> this was an illegal tax. >> reporter: they have local environmen environmentalists on fire for bulldozing habitats and species. >> now we have seen acres of the desert bl